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Early Oscars ratings show fewer viewers than last year

ABC's Sunday night broadcast of the 89th Academy Awards drew a 22.4 overnight rating, down 4 percent from last year's low-rated show, according to Nielsen data released by the Walt Disney Co unit.

The dip in the early figures for the Oscars could break the streak of higher ratings for award shows in 2017, following the Grammys and Golden Globes viewership gains over last year. The 2016 Oscars show drew 34.4 million and was the third-lowest rated since 1974. Nielsen's overnight rating measures 56 major markets in the United States, which represents about 70 percent of the country and is an early indication of the final number. ABC will release viewership figures covering all of the United States later on Monday.

The awards went a few minutes past midnight on the East Coast and ended in controversy when presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty mistakenly announced "La La Land" as the best picture winner after getting the wrong envelope. The actual winner, "Moonlight," was eventually announced.

The Oscar for Best Picture at the 89th Academy Awards ceremony may go down as one of the biggest blunders in live television history or maybe one of the best shock-awe marketing stunts ever.

As Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway delivered the Oscar for Best Picture, they were given the wrong envelope, announcing “La La Land” instead of “Moonlight.” As chaos ensued on stage between the two casts and on social media, brand experts saw something different.

34.43 million viewers witnessed the gaffe on Disney’s ABC Network (DIS), according to early numbers from Nielsen, and that number could rise in additional video hits as a media frenzy continues to dissect what really happened. The ABC Network declined to comment.